Sidra recruitment process in full swing

DOHA: Sidra Medical and Research Centre has filled the position of chair of the surgery department, who will arrive in Doha tomorrow, and is finalising the recruitment process for the head of obstetrics and gynaecology and radiology units.

Dr Edward Ogata, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Sidra, told The Peninsula that the recruitment process was going well, but not completed. When the hospital opens it will have a workforce of 5,000 people, including 500 physicians and 200 nurses, all of them with bachelors degree or higher.

The chair of surgery will take up the task of developing various members of his department. The CMO added that he will also make an offer shortly to a candidate for the chair of obstetrics and gynaecology, “who will be returning in about a week.”

The five final candidates for the position of chair of Paediatrics Department will also come back next week, so that Ogata expects to hire the top applicant probably by March. The CMO also has an ‘outstanding’ candidate for the position of head of radiology who’s arriving next week. “The recruitment with other chairs are also moving forward and, in addition, we’ll be making offers to selected faculty positions very shortly,” he added. Sidra will have seven clinical departments: Paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, surgery, anesthesia, radiology, pathology and psychiatry. The hospital building has an area of 3.5 million square feet which is an extraordinary size for a hospital. The CMO further said that “the building is magnificent as it has a $7.9bn endowment, which is the largest for a hospital in any place in the world, and thanks to the generosity of Qatar this will allow Sidra to meet its objectives.”

Sidra will be fully equipped this year. However, “it will open when we are absolutely sure that we are able to meet all of the goals,” added Ogata.

“As we bring staff from all over the world, we are going to have to work together and train them to work in this facility,” he said.

“We will open when staff is formed, comfortable with one another, knows their expectations, completely trained in the systems in the hospital and absolutely sure that when we open it will be as flawless as possible.”